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Nintendo and Me, growing apart

I've been down on Nintendo quite a bit over the last few years of my gaming life, and this year's E3 has managed to inspire less confidence in the company than ever. The 3DS remains a disappointment to me in terms of software, with pie-in-the-sky promises for the new Smash Bros, and video from the new Mario Kart doing little to sooth the bitterness I feel at having jumped on board the early adopter wagon train.

Unsurprisingly, Nintendo's unveiling of the Wii U has been met with mixed feelings. Some are calling it a 'return to form' for the Japanese giant. Some are flat out confused with what exactly they unveiled. And I...

I don't think I care for anything they do, anymore. I sit back and try to trace all the way to the moment this actually started to happen. An obvious choice for me would be the Wii, the one system I have ever owned that spend more months out of use than the number of games I owned for it at one time, but I think the symptoms stretch farther back than that.

When the N64 first dropped on the US market back in 1996, I HAD to have the machine. In my mind back then I distinctly recall saying "The SNES was so awesome, how can the N64 NOT be awesome?" I refused to get that 'Sony' thing that had released a year before. Who the heck was this 'Sony'? Don't they only make TV's? They have no business stepping to Sega, much less Nintendo.

Well, history obviously has played out much differently, but back then I didn't know better about how limited my precious N64 was. Something that still sticks with me as a major point of embarassment among my gaming friends from high school is one particular heated argument I made, back in my serious Console Warrior-ing days. I once swore up and down than there was no way for a PC to handle a game like Mario 64 (OH GOD WHAT WAS I THINKING), much less Star Fox 64. I was pretty naiive and stupid back then. When I eventually got a gaming PC for that era, one of the first games a friend forced onto me was Freespace 2, which shattered any delusions I had about console gaming. Again, I diverge from the point.

I was happy with the 64. Loved that thing to death...but love wasn't providing me the sorts of games I was seeing on that 'Sony thing'. I didn't understand it wholly in the beginning, but Nintendo had all but snubbed third party developers by stick to cartridges. I was seeing all of these cool games come out on the PS1, and they all looked less blurry than stuff on my 64. I eventually did get a Playstation, because I was tired of seeing all of this awesome stuff hit that console, while I was pretty much playing Blast Corps, Mario 64, Smash Bros, and Star Fox 64 again and again. Most third party offerings on the 64 weren't really doing it for me. I'd gotten stuck into a holding pattern of waiting for the next big Nintendo game...and ultimately one of the last games I ever purchased on the system was Ocarina of Time, a work of art, given the limitations of the console.

And even that just wasn't enough. I'd finally learned more about what it is that I'd purchased, and why the PS1, despite being 'technically' inferior according to certain numbers here or there, was dominating my once beloved Nintendo. I couldn't get proper versions of Resident Evil or WipeOut on the 64. I couldn't get Colony Wars. I couldn't get Metal Gear. Final Fantasy had seemingly completely abandoned Nintendo. The Mega Man X games, also moved to the PS brand. Einhander. Ace Combat. Front Mission. Valkyrie Profile. The list just went on and on.

Nintendo has, since the days of the N64, floundered badly trying to court third party support to their systems. The Cube was far more powerful than people gave it credit for, and yet once more, it failed to really make a strong case to the third party developers. I owned a Cube because Nintendo made games for it...and eventually, Retro Studios took the Metroid franchise that Nintendo had seemingly locked to the Gameboy Advance platform, and gave it life that Nintendo itself has not been able to match since. But again, Sony had done the hard work at getting outside talent to work their magic on the PS2.

Once again, Nintendo and a very select few companies were not enough to keep the Cube enticing. I sought my entertainment everywhere else far more often than ever before. I still enjoyed the hell out of 'The Nintendo Staples'...except Star Fox wasn't so hot on the Cube...and Sunshine wasn't quite as thrilling to me as the first time I played Mario 64, and there wasn't a real successor to the Donkey Cong Country franchise on the Cube.

When the Dreamcast died prematurely, I think that is what kept me with a Cube, despite the PS2 basically walking all over the console once more with the mountain of third parties producing work on that system. A barrage of DC titles found their way to the Cube, giving the system a needed injection of new material for me to peruse, assuming I hadn't played it already on the old DC. But the Cube once again looked like the odd man out. Even when the original Xbox came out, and everyone laughed at that enormous controller, and its own troubles getting new and enticing software on the system, Nintendo just seemingly failed to capitalize on opportunities they had available. They were still failing to court those third parties.

I bought a Wii almost as a matter of course. It was backward compatible with all of my Cube games, and hey, it was going to have Nintendo made games on it! I'd like to say I'm surprised that third party developers haven't made the best use of the Wii's capabilities, surprised that they stuck with more powerful hardware and still made profits despite working on systems that have sold SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than the Wii has, but I am really not.

Nintendo has long been locked onto this path, I think, with some deviation. The Wii is undeniably a success...for Nintendo. The DS line is undeniably a success...for Nintendo. It's clear that third party developers have wanted more powerful hardware to work on for some time, and that they not only are not able to get that with the Wii or the old DS line, but those that have stuck it out are not all enjoying that same fresh feel of success Nintendo has.

And that is why this mixed reaction for the Wii U and the 3DS has me thinking that it's going to be deja vu all over again, but maybe with a slight twist. Much has been made of the 'disappointing' numbers the 3DS has posted, and it is definitely premature to call the system dead in the water. Almost every system has a pretty sad launch lineup, with one or two must haves...except the 3DS didn't launch with any must haves here in the US, and the first 'must have' is a somewhat enhanced port of a game I beat repeatedly since 1998. This does not inspire confidence in a platform among consumers, and it certainly doesn't inspire confidence in those third part developers and publishers.

The Wii is all but dead, a Zelda game being it's last hurrah before it's consigned to what little third party support remains, and Nintendo shifts itself into full blown support of the Wii U. Wii sold fantastically well, but for guys like me, that doesn't mean a damn thing if there aren't games on it that I am chomping at the bit to play outside of the old staples.

That's a pretty apt description for what Nintendo really provides. The old staples. Games these days are still inspired by Mario, Metroid, and Zelda...but those things are not enough to hold up entire platforms to my discerning eye anymore. I think I've grown beyond using specific series to tie down my 'loyalty' to a platform. The charm of yet another Zelda, yet another Mario, yet another Smash, that's not enough anymore.

Nintendo has promised to bring back that support that made them the monsters they were back in the SNES days. They made a somewhat strong case for it with the Wii U, if it's as powerful as being rumored. I can't help but feel that Nintendo, in its quest to provie answers for questions that were never asked, in its quest to be different to save itself, when third parties are not willing to step up to the plate, is going to not live up to those promises again. Make no mistake, I think the 3DS will eventually EXPLODE with goodness, even in the face of a frighteningly competetive Vita coming from a Sony that has learned exactly what kind of foe they have in a Nintendo branded portable. I think the Wii U will experience success too, despite that monster tablet contoller, Nintendo will show the world how to use the hardware and once again have the best games on the platform.

But as far as that third party support, the real lifeblood of any console, all they have are promises, and videos of those games running on 360 or PS3 hardware, with the WiiU branding on top of it. I'm old enough now to not be entirely swayed by slick marketing of those 'old staples'. I want to see proof, and Nintendo didn't have it this year. The starry eyed expectations, wishes, and dreams for the future are not enough to shake this feeling from me that I've seen these promises before, but Nintendo is one of the few companies on their own platforms that have really lived up to all that.

I think I'm outgrowing my old favorite gaming company and its antics. That doesn't mean it's dead, it's just kinda sad to me to see them diverging from my own tastes so much as of late, the company that got me gaming is no longer the company that keeps me gaming. Progress and aging is a hell of a thing.

Comments (4)

Couldn't have said it better

This is exactly how I feel, and the story is very similar. Not the the "old staples" aren't good, or even inovative in some ways, their just not enough for me to justify owning a console forf 3 or 4 games.

why did you buy a 3DS?

I am way too tired to respond to this, having just flown back from the show. Suffice to say, having actually played some of the Wii U demos on the show floor and having been reminded of how multiplayer gaming can be when it's not dominated by hyper-aggresive killing simulations, my feelings are exactly the opposite of yours.

And also, I'm completely flabberghasted about how you're not excited by the 3DS lineup. Setting aside the re-releases of Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64 that you're apparently not going to buy (neither of which provide anything less than significant enhancements to the original titles, though the lack of online multi for SF64 is ridiculous), you've got a FANTASTIC new Mario game, a Resident Evil title that feels like Resident Evil and not Resident Action Blast (4 + 5) and looks incredible, an awesome port of MGS3, a new Mario Kart that actually does something different than any previous game in the series AND feels like it could de-throne Mario Kart DS as the best game in the series, a Treasure-style shooter in Kid Icarus (it felt a lot like the original Sin & Punishment), a new Luigi's Mansion...and a re-vamped version of Cave Story! This is the kind of stuff I bought my 3DS for, and it's all coming in quick succession. And this isn't even mentioning the eShop stuff and the FREE DSiWare release of Four Swords. What's not to love?

Anyway, I guess I had time to say more than I thought. My brain's awake now, so maybe I'll get to some of the E3 content I wasn't able to write while I was in LA thanks to a lack of working wi-fi.

I ask myself the same question these days

I originally bought a 3DS most for MGS3D, and to replace my old DSlite. Certainly not for the 3D effect, as nifty as that is, I have turned it off while playing Pilotwings or DoA (especially for DoA, the framerate drops way below the advertised 30 FPS all the time in 3D mode, and I prefer the smoothness of the game without it).

The videos I've seen make MGS3D look worse than the PS2 version in many ways, and I can see the 3D only slowing the game down even further. Considering that the MGS HD collection will be coming out for PS3, it makes the 3DS version an even tougher sale for me. The lack of a second analog will only further frustrate me, for as much as I loved Peace Walker and Portable Ops on my PSP, the controls were a pain to really get used to.

As far as Mario Kart/Mario 3DS are concerned, Mario Kart does look fun...but that has never been a system seller for me. Mario 3DS looks incredibly slow to play, and maybe that's because what was being showed off were slower levels. For me, however, Mario 3/World are probably the best games in the franchise, and I really enjoyed the ability to sprint aorund through levels in a way that Mario 3DS does not look poised to provide.

Consider the direct competition to the 3DS. The Vita looks significantly more powerful, always a plus no matter how you try to spin it, and it's at a competitive price point. There's no hard and fast rule that says there will not be third party support on the Vita and it will focus only on the 3DS. Hell, in Japan the PSP is more popular than the DS line, so for the sake of their native audience, many japanese franchises will at the very least be multiplatform

3DS is getting an Ace Combat? The Vita will as well. Monster Hunter? Capcom would be unwise not to go to the Vita, the Sony portable is what made the franchise the real monster (ha ha) it has become.

At the end of the day, the 'Nintendo staples' are not enough to keep my attention, and certainly not rereleases of N64 games I played to death over a decade ago. Sure, OoT and SF64 look shinier now...but I don't care. I want a newer Zelda game on my portable. I want a newer StarFox game on my portable. Nintendo might be able to run entirely off nostalgia, but my gaming tastes have long sought more than what they've provided over the last ten years, which is why I've always owned more than just a Nintendo console or portable (if one was currently available).